The terrifying killing intent and magic power merged together, turning into a faint blood mist that spread throughout the entire Flamel Castle.
Any creature that came into contact with the blood mist, before it had even recovered from its earlier grief, once again sank into boundless rage.
At this moment, under the influence of the powerful magic, every creature inside the castle truly came to feel the same emotions as Link.
Dumbledore could be considered the only person who still retained his sanity.
After all, he had once been a high-level Legendary archmage. Although all his magic power had already been 'sacrificed,' his mental strength and willpower had been preserved very well.
Feeling the blood mist spreading around him and listening to the endless roars coming from inside the castle, Dumbledore shook his head.
The power of King's Blood itself possessed a powerful ability to confuse people's minds.
Everyone who was 'infected' by it ran the risk of falling into madness and being controlled by it.
For a long time before this, Link had actually been in a state of being eroded by King's Blood as well. It was just that Link was relatively clever. First, he split off a secondary personality to bear all of the erosion from King's Blood, and then he began learning Occlumency. Only then was he able to persist.
And once someone endured the erosion of King's Blood and became its master,
this ability of King's Blood to confuse people's minds would naturally become an ability of its master as well.
Number 1 was a master at using this aspect of its power.
He had pushed this ability of King's Blood to its extreme, even naming it 'love,' and had developed a set of techniques that could use 'love' to perform 'sacrifices.'
Link naturally possessed this ability as well.
And judging from the fact that Link was currently able to 'infect' the entire Flamel Castle simply by passively expressing his emotions, Link's ability in this regard might even be stronger than Number 1's.
It was just that Link clearly had no intention of continuing to develop and use this ability.
Because his power was already strong enough.
Dumbledore struggled to get up and turned his head toward the dining hall once again.
The situation in the dining hall could now be described as terrifying.
After mastering so much King's Blood, Link had truly stepped into the 'divine realm' of the high-level Legendary rank, a realm no one had ever set foot in before.
His affinity with the magic of every attribute in the world had already reached its extreme.
This caused the surrounding magic to enter a berserk state as well after sensing Link's violent emotional fluctuations.
It twisted and collided wildly inside the dining hall, continuously creating magic fluctuations powerful enough to erase low-level Legendary wizards.
But strangely, these terrifying magic fluctuations seemed to possess a consciousness of their own. They automatically avoided the furniture and living creatures in the dining hall, spreading through the air instead.
There was even a large amount of magic that flowed into the Basilisk Arkham and the Bowtruckle? Luliuqiu in a rather gentle manner, constantly improving their bodies, causing their forms to gradually become elementalized, and eventually turning them into magical creatures somewhat similar to the shadowy magical beast formed from the cursed-attribute magic that had previously appeared behind Link.
Of course, after Arkham and Luliuqiu were completely transformed, their state was far better than that of the magical beast shadow.
They were truly living magical creatures. They could absorb and produce magic on their own, without depending on Link, and both their power and intelligence had been further enhanced.
For them, this was a pure evolution in terms of their level of life!
Under normal circumstances, Arkham and Luliuqiu would probably have gone crazy with joy after receiving such benefits.
But now, sensing the emotions in Link's heart, they were also in a state of extreme rage. Even their magic-formed bodies had begun to swell more and more.
"Hissssss!"
A nasty hissing sound rang out, and Dumbledore was shocked to discover that the Basilisk Arkham was staring fixedly at him with a vicious gaze that seemed intent on killing him.
And this sound seemed to awaken Link from his uncontrolled emotions as well.
He slowly raised his head and likewise turned to look at Dumbledore in the corridor.
Compared to Arkham, Link's gaze was even more terrifying.
It was a gaze that was extremely calm, yet at the same time extremely insane.
Dumbledore found it difficult to understand how these two completely opposite emotions could appear in the eyes of one person at the same time.
But that was exactly what was happening.
And after these two emotions became entangled with each other, they directly created a terrifying pressure.
So much so that even Dumbledore, who still possessed the mental strength and willpower of a mid-level Legendary, felt an urge to tremble and kneel after meeting Link's gaze.
"Lin... Link..."
Dumbledore called out with difficulty.
He really wanted to awaken Link.
Link's current state was on the verge of losing control, and if an existence like Link lost control, then let alone Dumbledore, the entire world would collapse.
But no matter how anxious he was, faced with Link's powerful pressure, all he could do now was call out softly.
As if he had heard Dumbledore's voice, Link slowly stood up and, together with the sinister, magic-formed Arkham and Luliuqiu, slowly walked over to Dumbledore.
Link's arm slowly rose.
As his body moved, the magic and aura that were so powerful they had almost condensed into tangible form surged violently as well.
Under the impact, Dumbledore could finally no longer maintain his composure and trembled as he collapsed onto the ground again.
He even had a premonition that Link really wanted to kill him.
But in the next moment, Link's arm stopped moving.
It stretched forward, while his palm opened, as though asking for something.
This left Dumbledore stunned for a moment, and then he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Link had ultimately retained his rationality.
"All right, I'll give them to you. I'll give you everything."
Dumbledore spoke in a hoarse voice while taking out the Elder Wand and the box containing the Resurrection Stone and handing them to Link.
The moment these two Deathly Hallows entered Link's hands, his magic and aura surged another great deal.
Powerful pressure swept over him, forcing Dumbledore to crawl backward a long way before he could barely withstand it.
"I must remind you, Link, don't become obsessed with the Resurrection Stone! The Resurrection Stone cannot summon the souls of the dead at all. What it summons are merely phantoms constructed on the basis of the memories of the living. These phantoms harbor ill intentions. They are devils wearing the appearance of your loved ones, and they will constantly tempt you to move toward death!"
Dumbledore panted heavily as he said, "Think about it carefully and you should understand. The principle behind the 'sacrifice' to King's Blood is to turn your own flesh, soul, and love into nourishment and offer them to the owner of King's Blood. Since the soul has already been turned into nourishment and absorbed, how could it possibly be summoned by the Resurrection Stone? So don't become obsessed with the Resurrection Stone!
"Also, you'd better not place too much other hope in the Deathly Hallows.
"Gellert Grindelwald and I conducted in-depth research into the Deathly Hallows when we were young, so we understand them very well.
"Simply gathering all three Deathly Hallows will not cause anything special to happen.
"But if King's Blood is involved as well, then disaster will appear.
"That is what Norton called the 'God of Death' descending.
"He is the strongest existence in this world. After defeating him, you can indeed overcome death, but that does not mean you can revive Emily and the others!"
After saying this, Dumbledore seemed to have lost all his strength and completely collapsed.
Dumbledore was very clever.
Link, who had previously been on the verge of losing control, had indeed remembered the three Deathly Hallows and the 'God of Death' that Norton had mentioned. Only then had he finally regained his rationality.
This was the last hope he had left.
And now, Dumbledore's words were undoubtedly like pouring a bucket of cold water over this flame of hope.
Of course, this still could not extinguish it.
Just as stated above, the three Deathly Hallows and the 'God of Death' were already his only hope.
If things really developed as he wished, then he would not only revive Mrs. Flamel, Emily, and Old Klei, but also Snape.
For this faint hope of returning the dead, he was willing to take the risk.
As for the 'God of Death' descending, disaster appearing, and such matters, Link did not care in the slightest.
So what if this world was destroyed?
Therefore, after a brief silence, Link put the Elder Wand and Resurrection Stone into his clothes, then extended his hand toward Dumbledore again.
"There is one more."
Link spoke calmly.
His voice was unexpectedly gentle, yet it also gave people an intense sense of fear.
Dumbledore's body trembled, and he said weakly, "The Invisibility Cloak isn't with me. It's a relic of Harry's father. He returned it to Harry a long time ago."
That went without saying.
Having spent so much time with Harry, how could Link not know this?
Noticing Link's displeasure, Dumbledore said with a bitter smile, "That is all I know. After all, I never thought about keeping the Invisibility Cloak for myself. Even after Harry was injured, I didn't take it back. So, if nothing unexpected happened, the Invisibility Cloak should currently be in the possession of Sirius Black."
A flash of blue light appeared in Link's eyes, confirming that Dumbledore was telling the truth.
Dumbledore was already in a state where he could not withstand the probing of Legilimency.
After confirming this, Link raised his hand slightly. Luliuqiu, which had originally been standing on his left shoulder, let out a shriek, bit through space, tore open a spatial rift, and crawled inside.
Dumbledore's eyelid twitched at the sight.
He understood that Link had sent his familiar to search for the Invisibility Cloak.
What truly surprised him was that after being completely transformed into a magical lifeform, the Bowtruckle had actually gained the ability to pass through space.
One had to know that the Bowtruckle was already a dangerous creature famous for its extreme speed and agility.
Now that it had also gained such a powerful ability,
just how strong had its mobility and lethality become?
And what terrifying power had that Basilisk, which had originally been even stronger than it and was also more favored by Link, gained?
Dumbledore simply did not dare think about it.
This was probably what they meant by one person attaining enlightenment and even his chickens and dogs ascending to heaven, right?
Swoosh!
While Dumbledore was thinking, space was torn open again.
The Bowtruckle, its entire body wrapped in black magic like a shadow, flew back onto Link's shoulder.
However, there was no trace of the Invisibility Cloak on it.
Link was not in a hurry. He slowly extended a finger, and another mass of black magic flowed out from the Bowtruckle.
The Bowtruckle's earlier memories appeared before Link.
It was a huge hospital. Judging from the portraits hanging on the walls, this should be St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, where Harry was currently staying.
Because it was responsible for the regular medical care of the entire British magical world, St. Mungo's was always extremely busy.
Link had heard people complain about this more than once.
But now, St. Mungo's was incredibly quiet, and the corridors were completely empty.
The Bowtruckle's flying skills were excellent. It traveled through the labyrinth-like hospital at a speed like lightning.
But no matter where it went, it still could not find a single person.
In the end, the Bowtruckle hovered outside a hospital room.
Harry Potter's name was printed on the tightly closed door.
This was the private hospital room Sirius had arranged for Harry using his ability to throw money around.
The door was pushed open by magic, and the Bowtruckle entered the room.
Contrary to what Link had expected, the room was not empty like the outside.
Sirius was sitting with his eyes closed on a companion sofa, his body limp as though he were dead.
Harry, on the hospital bed opposite him, had already awakened from his vegetative state. His eyes were filled with tears as he sadly watched Sirius. It seemed that he really wanted to go over and check on him, but he had not yet regained the ability to move.
According to the Bowtruckle's perception, Sirius was naturally not dead.
He had merely lost consciousness.
And after the Bowtruckle landed on Sirius and began scanning his memories with Link's magic, another scene from Sirius's memories unfolded before Link.
———
"It was Number 1. He took the Invisibility Cloak from Sirius Black.", Link said.
His tone was indifferent, but it contained a powerful killing intent.
Arkham, whose entire body was likewise wrapped in black magic, poked its head out from Link's collar and hissed, "Hissssss!" (Kill him!!)
Compared to Link, the killing intent on its body was even purer.
Hearing this, Link shifted his gaze back to Dumbledore.
The 'him' Arkham was talking about was not Number 1.
Number 1's secret transmission of information into Flamel Castle could not escape Link's notice now that he was comparable to a god.
As the instigator who had created this entire tragedy, Number 1 had long since been placed on Link's must-kill list.
Arkham, after being transformed into a magical creature, understood this as well. It would no longer waste words, so the 'him' in its words referred to Dumbledore.
This Hogwarts headmaster, Link's former guide.
He had concealed too many things from Link, especially regarding King's Blood.
It could be said that Dumbledore had also made a considerable 'contribution' to things developing into this state.
Link even felt that all of this was a conspiracy orchestrated by Dumbledore.
"Professor Dumbledore."
Link murmured softly.
Hearing this, Dumbledore seemed to have already made his preparations as well. He smiled and closed his eyes, waiting for death.
So, should he kill him or not?
Link asked himself inwardly.
But after a brief hesitation, Link still smiled and shook his head.
There was no need to kill Dumbledore anymore.
The reason wizards could live long lives was mainly because magic continuously maintained their bodies after they grew old.
And after Dumbledore had 'sacrificed' all his magic, he had already lost this maintenance.
His body was gradually collapsing. Combined with the injuries he had suffered earlier, Dumbledore should die within a week at most.
This process of losing all one's power, with even one's body rapidly weakening and collapsing while one could only watch oneself slowly approach death, was extremely terrifying.
Even Dumbledore could not calmly accept such a death.
This was not Link's guess. Link could clearly sense Dumbledore's fear of this manner of death at this moment, as well as his earnest desire for Link to release him from it.
But how could there be such a good thing in this world?
A trace of mockery flashed through Link's eyes.
His figure slowly disappeared into the void. Seeing this, despair finally appeared on Dumbledore's face.
"Professor Dumbledore, please savor the taste of what is called death."